HOLIDAY SAFETY TRAVEL TIPS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW (2024 UPDATE)

Seems like just yesterday we were writing safety tips for what proved to be a hectic and chaotic 2023 holiday travel season. Now it’s 2024. Should we expect less chaos, less confusion, shorter lines, fewer hassles, and a general decline in safety concerns? 

You know the answer. 

 

Photo by Suhyeon Choi on Unsplash

THE BIG TRENDS THAT WILL IMPACT 2024 HOLIDAY TRAVEL

Why is holiday travel such a bear? 

• The weather
• The crowds
• The hassles
• The costs
• The timing 
• The hot destinations

 

The weather

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center projects near-normal temps and lots of precipitation for the heartland, warm and wet in the Northeast, and hot and dry weather for the entire southern tier throughout the holiday months of November 2024-January 2025. 

Let’s translate that into slightly paranoid travel-speak. That means: 

• Blizzards across the middle of the country
• Mudslides in the Pacific Northwest
• Wildfires in the Southwest
• A smorgasbord of nastiness up and down the Eastern seaboard 

Florida looks okay, but it’s Florida. Anything can happen there. If you’re not a winter-weather fan, you probably don’t like the forecast. But it should prompt you to be prepared. 

The crowds

Nerdwallet pegged the number of Americans traveling over the holidays last year at 130 million. 

Early AI-powered estimates for 2024 put the number of holiday travelers at similiar levels, with 35 million to 40 million travelers flying and 85 million to 90 million travelers driving. 

Those numbers are naturally subject to dynamics like gas prices and weather, but it seems pretty likely that you’re going to have some company if you decide to fly or drive for Thanksgiving or Christmas. 

The hassles

Last year’s holiday travel season was fairly hassle-free as holiday travel seasons go – no meltdown of Southwest Airlines’ systems like two years ago – so automatically we’re assuming that this year’s holiday travel season will be fraught with hassles. 

It’s certainly possible. Nothing has changed fundamentally in airline travel – and now the number of near-misses on runways is at historic highs! 

We’re not here to fuel your fears. Really. But the fact is that all the ingredients are in place for some major flight issues over the holidays. 

The costs

The team at Hopper suggests that travelers will do whatever it takes to travel over the holidays, even if it means creating a mountain of credit-card debt for them to climb in 2025. 

Their research predicts that people will spend at least as much on holiday travel in 2024 as they did in 2023 … and they spent $254 billion on holiday travel in ‘23, according to Nerdwallet. 

Of course prices are up (around 3%, according to CWT), so that may not mean more travel, but it certainly doesn’t mean less. 

Hopper finds flight costs in general are up, specifically: 

• Airfare for Thanksgiving trips is averaging $298 per round-trip ticket, up 10% from this time last year and 3% from pre-pandemic. 
• Airfare for Christmas trips is averaging $406/ticket, up 4% from last year and 13% from pre-pandemic. 

However, most of the increases are for domestic travel. If you’re looking to travel internationally, you may find lower fares to: 

• South America
• Mexico
• Canada
• Europe 

 

Photo by Erik Odiin on Unsplash

The hot destinations 

You may be in luck here as well. Data from Google searches suggest these are the hot Thanksgiving destinations: 

• Orlando
• Cancun
• New York
• Tokyo
• London 

And these are the most-searched Christmas and New Year's Eve destinations: 

• Tokyo
• Orlando
• Cancun
• Miami
• New York 

Turkey sushi and Cancun champagne, and some lower fares to boot? Sounds like a plan. 

The timing: When you buy and when you travel 

Regardless of where you’re heading, it really matters when you buy your tickets.  

Oct. 14 is the magic date. If you buy your ticket on Oct. 14, Hopper expects you’ll likely spend no more than you did last year, and in many cases less than you may have spent pre-pandemic. 

It also really matters when you travel.  

Travel the Tuesday or Wednesday before Thanksgiving and come home on Sunday and not only will you be sharing an airport with tens of thousands of your closest friends, but you’ll pay more for the privilege. 

If you’re traveling domestically and looking to spend as little as possible, Hopper recommends you: 

• Leave home the Thursday before Thanksgiving (11/21) or the Monday of Thanksgiving week (11/25) to save 23%, or about $60 per ticket
• Return on Monday, Dec. 2, to save $137 per ticket 

Traveling overseas for Thanksgiving? Leave on Thanksgiving Day for the greatest savings. 

Driving  

Gas prices are trending lower and could stay below $3 a gallon in many parts of the country right through Thanksgiving. 

This is particularly important for Thanksgiving travel, when about 17% of Americans hit the road. 

Global lodging costs are only up slightly from last year, according to data from HotelHub, so many travelers may not notice any change. 

Photo by Pascal Meier on Unsplash

SMART HOLIDAY TRAVEL TIPS

 

Plan your trip 

We have an entire section of our site devoted to trip planning, so whether you’re planning a road trip or a vacation three-quarters of the way around the world we have resources to help make planning easier and travel safer and more enjoyable. 

 

Monitor costs 

Hopper naturally wants you to download the Hopper app to monitor flight prices, and while it’s not a bad idea, you can do much the same thing on Google Flights. 

Whichever route you take, knowing where you want to go and paying attention to flight costs is never a bad idea. 

Book refundable flights and stays 

If your life is messy and constantly in flux, refundable flights and stays are your travel refuge. 

Major travel sites are getting better at listing the refund policies for flights and hotels. Read the terms carefully, looking for loopholes they might use to not pay you. 

You can also search on your favorite online travel site for terms like “free cancellation" or "reserve now, pay later."  

Also, when searching flights online, look closely at what’s included with the ticket, paying special attention to flight changes and cancellations. You may have to pay more for refundable tickets, but for the holiday season it’s worth it. 

Wait to book your hotel 

Last-minute lodging sites like Hotel Tonight can be a great resource if you’re just pulling into town and need a discounted place to stay. 

It’s a gamble, though. Prices fall the closer you get to your arrival time, but the supply dwindles as well, meaning you may not get the location, hotel brand, or room type you want. 

The only exception: High-demand areas like ski resorts, where you’ll want to book early – and pay the price – to get prime dates. 

Choose your flights wisely 

Especially at smaller airports, the later in the day you fly the greater the risk of having a flight delayed or canceled. This effect is more pronounced in Northern Tier states and around the holidays. 

For example, according to the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Reports, some of the most delayed airports in the country during December 2023 were: 

• Aspen, Colo.
• Plattsburgh, N.Y.
• Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
• Walla Walla, Wash.
• Toledo, Ohio 

This can have ripple effects; for instance, the on-time stats for Boston Logan and Baltimore-Washington were poor in December 2023, in part because of delays at airports feeding into these terminals.  

Very often planes servicing small airports go back-and-forth to these hubs, and if something disrupts the process, everything gets messed up. 

Bottom line: Take the first flight of the day whenever you can. 

What to do if your flight is canceled 

If a flight is canceled while you’re in the airport: 

• Work the phones, social media, and your airline’s app while you’re waiting in line.
• If you can’t connect with domestic customer service, try the international lines. They may be available when domestic agents aren’t.
• If you have travel insurance, inform them of your plight and get the travel assistance team involved. All BHTP plans come with 24/7 customer service, so they’re on-call and ready to help.
• If it looks like you may be stranded for a while, consider buying a one-day pass to an airport lounge. The $25-$75 you might spend will be more than offset by the relative comfort of the lounge. 

Pro Tip: Though access rules for some airport lounges have changed over the last year, many travel credit cards include complimentary access to airport lounges worldwide.

Photo by Alice Donovan Rouse on Unsplash

CAR TRAVEL TIPS

If one-third to one-half of all holiday travelers fly, that means one-half to two-thirds drive to where they’re going.  

Here are some ways of making sure your holiday drive goes smoothly.

Book early to get the car rental you want 

For car rentals, supply bottlenecks are largely a thing of the past, though there may still be spot shortages of some vehicles and the occasional horror story. 

Rental-car prices remain high, though, up 25% since 2019 according to Nerdwallet, though down 8% from a year ago – and those are generalized, non-peak, non-holiday prices. Expect to pay more around the holidays. 

Florida airports have the best supply of rental vehicles, but what applies to everything else in travel applies here: book early to get the vehicle you want. 

What to do if you get stuck

Inclement winter travel conditions can always be an issue when you’re on the road. If you wind up stranded, don’t panic; stay where you are. Your chances of survival are better inside than outside.

Most cell towers and carriers are unaffected by weather. Call 911 and tell them where you are, who’s with you, your exact location, and how much food, water and gas you have. Then call a friend or relative with the same information.

Even if you don’t have service, it’s vital to keep your phone charged, ideally with a portable power bank. Warmth is crucial, so focus on conserving your body heat. Wrap up in anything you can find and run the car, but only enough to get the cabin moderately warm.

Hopefully you prepared for this by packing a shovel with a telescoping handle, some sand or cat litter, or some cardboard.

If that’s the case and it’s stopped snowing:

• Keep your flashers on, and clear out around the exhaust to prevent carbon monoxide from seeping into the cabin.
• Wipe snow off the roof, then the sides, then shovel out the tires, and finally shovel a path in the direction you want to go.
• Make tools from whatever you have on hand. A credit card can double as a scraper, floor mats can sub for cardboard, and a Frisbee makes a passable emergency shovel.
• Turn your wheels from side to side. Rock the car back and forth to get traction.
• Go slow. If your tires are spinning, giving it more gas will only dig you deeper.
• If you get out, go slow and easy. You just got unstuck; you don’t need to get stuck a second time.
  
  
  

Photo by Jantine Doornbos on Unsplash

 

More winter driving tips

According to the most recent statistics, there as many as 550,000 car crashes each year related to snowy, icy roads, injuring more than 115,000 people. 

To avoid becoming a statistic, follow the winter-driving tips from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: 

• Increase your following distance on bad roads – especially when following a snowplow
• Pass plows with care
• Inspect your tires, and fill them to the recommended pressure 
• Fill your vehicle’s windshield washer reservoir with high-quality “winter” fluid with de-icer 
• Replace worn wiper blades
• Test your battery and replace it if it’s old or weak
• Promptly replace burned-out headlights or taillights

In addition, the NHTSA recommends ditching the heavy winter coat for infants and toddlers in car seats. Instead, dress them in thin layers, snug down the harness, then cover them with a blanket.

Meanwhile, Transport Canada adds brake and exhaust-system checks to its list, and recommends you carry a winter emergency kit with the following:

• Small shovel with a long handle
• Sand or kitty litter
• Traction mats
• Cloth or roll of paper towels
• Warning light, reflective safety triangles or road flares
• Extra socks, gloves, and footwear
• Emergency food pack
• Water bottles
• Booster cables
• Hand and foot warmers
• Fire extinguisher
• Windshield washer fluid
• Fuel-line antifreeze
• Extra fuses
• Lock de-icer
• Tool kit with screwdriver, pliers, a hammer, and wrenches

If you have an EV

If you’re driving an EV in snow and ice and haven’t before, a couple of important tips:

• Expect the range your vehicle shows to be half your actual range. It’s not just the cold that kills an EV’s batteries. Wind and precipitation are range-killers, too.
  
  
• Remember that just about everything you do in your EV will affect battery life. That includes running the heater, the radio, wireless charging, windshield wipers, fans – everything. If you’re concerned about range, shut down everything you can.
  
  
• Charge whenever possible, and set your battery’s capacity to 100%.
  
  
• If your car isn’t going to make it to the next charging station, make alternate plans. Find a car dealer, garage, or hotel where you might be able to plug in for the night. 

Photo by Adrian Pranata on Unsplash

OVERALL: BE FLEXIBLE, STAY HEALTHY, CHOOSE WISELY

Be flexible

If booking right away is Holiday Travel Tip No. 1, being flexible is a solid 1a.

Holiday travel takes place at one of the busiest travel times of the year, in a time of rampant personnel shortages and flight chaos, and requires navigating crowds, blizzards, and everything in between.

If you want to make it through safely, you’re going to need to be flexible. 

Flexibility really means two things:

• Staying cool, calm and collected when things go wrong when you travel – because things are bound to go wrong
• Building flexibility into your travels, so that you can handle upheavals

Stay healthy

COVID’s back, so get vaccinated before you leave. Get a flu shot and an RSV vaccination as well, especially if you’re in a high-risk group.

Having the flexibility to go where you want is important, so have the health stuff buttoned up – especially if you have an underlying health condition.

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

Choose the safest places to travel

So if you want to travel, where are the safest places to travel? Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection has determined the world’s safest countries and cities for the upcoming year, as we do every year, and here are the top five safest countries:

1. Canada
2. Switzerland
3. Norway
4. Ireland
5. Netherlands

The top five cities are:

1. Honolulu
2. Montreal
3. Reykjavik
4. Sydney
5. Amsterdam

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those lists of mainly cold-weather destinations don’t generally align with where people are traveling for the holidays – except for Tokyo, which sits smack in the middle of the Venn-diagram overlap for desirability and safety.   

 

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST: BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE

We’re not saying that travel insurance will make the craziness of this holiday travel season vanish, but it will give you the peace of mind to travel confidently knowing you’ll be reimbursed if travel issues mess with your trip.

Additionally, the travel assistance offered with BHTP travel insurance will help smooth the literal and figurative bumps in the road.

Travel insurance is also surprisingly affordable for most types of holiday travel. You can get a quote today and see that for yourself.

As the song says, it’s a marshmallow world in the winter. Go make some s’mores.